(Archive) Artistic E-textile Experimentation Lab

Part 1: E-textile swatches

The first part of the project are the so called e-textile swatches. Small size textiles are combined with electronics, microcontrollers, sensors, with led's or displays - any actuators. These interactive soft samples can be added easily and quickly to garments, wearables or products like cushions or curtains without any difficulty to preview the effect and consequences of adding interactivity more permanently. The textile acts as a soft support, or an active electronic element, like a soft switch or textile battery holder. These low tech textile electronic components are connected to microcontrollers using either conductive thread or very thin copper isolated wires. The energy source can be flat lipo batteries.

Part 2: Artistic Swatches

In the artistic swatches the laser cutter and the textile sublimation printing technique are used to add shapes (like soft cubes), and imagery to the design elements of the swatches. These design elements lift the collection of swatches from a mere technical display of possibilities of interactive swatches to the realm of extended expressivity. An interaction between the visual elements and the electronics elements enriches the both realms. The technical world becomes more enchanted and the art world is empowered by interactivity.

Part 3: Publication Textiles Swatches

In the next phase of the collection the imagery is extended with text. Text from a publication like a book printed on products, garments or the swatches transforms itself to a visual texture. Questions arise: given a text in a book, printed on a textile interactive swatch, is this text still "adding to the knowledge of humankind, like a text published in a journal? These layers permit the soft e-textile swatch to start documenting itself, being critical of itself. Using the possibilities of this layer not only the textile part of the swatch becomes nearly self-conscious, but also the electronics, normally being totally functional becomes alive in a more human dimension.